A very racy remake: Can the BBC’s version of DH Lawrence’s Women In
Love be as shocking as Ken Russell’s 1969 film? It’s going to have a
jolly good try...

The novel scandalised the nation and the movie was no less shocking. Now a lavish new TV adaptation is set to get audiences steamed up all over again with DH Lawrence’s Women In Love.

BBC4 has turned the wildly erotic classic and its equally passionate prequel, The Rainbow, into a highly charged two-part drama, complete with a glittering cast and all the sex and nudity that outraged readers and cinema-goers alike in the last century.

The story that first caused uproar nearly 100 years ago centres on the lives and loves of two women who live in the Midlands – untamed sculptress Gudrun Brangwen and her sister, the seemingly mild-mannered teacher Ursula. The pair are fascinated by the idea of casting off conventional morality.

That feeling soon takes over their lives as they immerse themselves in a world of unfettered sexuality.

The sisters embark on intense affairs with friends Rupert Birkin, an alienated intellectual, and the wealthy industrialist Gerald Crich. But the sisters’ relationships with the men lead to heartache, conflict and tragedy. It’s a story shot through with passion and pain.

The potent new interpretation features a top-notch cast, headed by Rosamund Pike (An Education) as Gudrun, Rachael Stirling (Tipping The Velvet) as Ursula, Rory Kinnear (Hamlet) as Rupert and Joseph Mawle (The Passion) as Gerald.

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Shot in South Africa, which doubles for the Midlands of the early 20th century, in one scene, silk flowers were woven into the African foliage to make it look like an English garden. Adapted by William Ivory, who was responsible for last year’s hit film Made In Dagenham, the idea of bringing the novels to the small screen appealed to him because he believes Lawrence is ‘the greatest 20th-century English novelist’.

Ivory was impressed by the cast’s willingness to take on the more intimate scenes. ‘The strong sexual content was never an issue. Rory and Joe, Rachael and Rosamund all had challenging nude scenes, yet from the start they understood that nothing was getting “sexed-up” or made gratitously raunchy.’

It was Lawrence’s candid depiction of erotic love that triggered
shock-waves at the beginning of the last century. His contention that
our sex drives are unstoppable forces of nature prompted outrage when
The Rainbow was first published in 1915.

URSULA BRANGWEN

Jennie Linden (above) played timid teacher Ursula, who falls for Rupert
Birkin despite his affair with another woman. The part is now played by
Rachael Stirling.

TRIVIA

Linden had just given birth when she was cast, while Glenda Jackson fell pregnant during preproduction.

Ken Russell said the curves added to Glenda’s allure.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Despite a few more films, Linden’s career didn’t take off in the way
her co-stars’ did. By the 1990s she was taking bit parts in series such
as Casualty.

RUPERT BIRKIN

Alan Bates (above) played the alienated intellectual in Ken Russell’s Oscar-winning film in 1969. Rory Kinnear plays him in the new BBC version.

TRIVIA

bates needed a few stiff drinks before doing that famous wrestling scene with Oliver Reed.

It was the first time full-frontal nudity had been featured in an English-speaking film.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Knighted in 2002 for services to drama, including roles in Georgy Girl and Gosford Park, Bates died of cancer at 69 in 2003.

Later that year, the book was the subject of an obscenity trial. As a result of this, the novel was banned and every copy of the book burned.

The Rainbow remained unobtainable in this country for the next 11 years. The publication of its sequel, Women In Love – Lawrence originally conceived the project as a two-part novel entitled The Sisters – was delayed until 1920.

However, as the 20th century wore on, Lawrence’s brilliance began to be more widely recognised and the novels were gradually rehabilitated. In 1969, Lawrence’s profile was raised worldwide when Ken Russell made an Oscar-winning movie version of Women In Love.

GERALD CRICH

Oliver Reed (above) took the role of rich industrialist Gerald Crich, who is tortured by his past and in love with Gudrun.

He’s now played by Joseph Mawle.

TRIVIA

Before filming started, Reed slimmed down from 14 stone to 13 to prepare for his extensive nude scenes.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Reed’s reputation as a hellraiser eclipsed his acting performances and he died in 1999 while filming Gladiator.

GUDRUD BRAGWEN

Glenda Jackson (above) played Ursula’s sister, sculptress Gudrun. The part’s now played by Rosamund Pike.

TRIVIA

Jackson won an Oscar for her performance in 1970 – the first actress to win the award for a role which had a nude scene.

She also won a second Oscar for A Touch Of Class, three years later.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

The 73-year-old Jackson retired from acting in 1992 to enter politics.She served as a transport minister under Tony Blair and is now a Labour MP in North London.

The character of Rupert, played by Alan Bates, was believed to be a self-portrait of Lawrence himself, while Oliver Reed took the role of Gerald only after it had been turned down by Michael Caine. It was Reed who persuaded Russell to include the now notorious nude wrestling sequence.

Glenda Jackson, the sexually voracious Gudrun in Women In Love, funnily enough played Gudrun’s mother when, 20 years later, Russell directed an adaptation of The Rainbow.

Now Ivory hopes he has managed to translate Lawrence’s vision of raw sexuality to the screen in a way that will introduce the book to a new generation. He says he has always adored the author, ‘For his bravery, his commitment, his ability to rub everyone up the wrong way – and his insistence that sex was something the English would discuss!’